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Am looking to add an am21 to my hr34 to use for locals when weather is bad and satellite is out and such.

My question is can you record from more then 1 station via antenna? How does it affect your other 5 tuners?

You can record a max of two OTA's at same time. You can tune to or record three other SAT channels, but cannot tune to another OTA channel while recording on two different OTA channels. It would be nice if we could record either 5 SAT or OTA's at same time, but likely will never happen.

Better then what it use to be. Any receiver I have had before was only 1 OTA
How well does the am21 tuner work? Use to have issues with dish my tuner in the DVR was not great even though I'm not far from channels

I only have one AM21 to comment on. I find it to have poor reception of marginal signals. Besides the AM21, I've got a Sony TV and Magnavox DVR as additional ATSC OTA tuners. They're all on the same antenna, so that's not a factor. The AM21 just won't pick up weak signals reliably. When the AM21 is pixelating and dropping in and out, the other 2 tuners are solid. The other tuners often provide solid reception for a station the AM21 doesn't see at all. I have a variable gain amp on the antenna, and if I crank it up too high for the weak stations, the strong ones drop off, I assume from overloading the AM21's tuner, while the other 2 tuners continue to handle it up just fine.

Better then what it use to be. Any receiver I have had before was only 1 OTAHow well does the am21 tuner work? Use to have issues with dish my tuner in the DVR was not great even though I'm not far from channels

Tuners are better than the HR10's I had. Every HR2x receiver I have all allowed for two OTA recordings at same time, so for me its been the same from day one. If I am not mistaken, its a hardware limitation on the HR34 to only allow two at the same time and not five, so a software adjustment will not change this unless a new generation of 34's is made to accomodate five OTA tuners.

For me, the AM21 has performed flawlessly since day one. I do run an ampifier for my OTA because I have so many hookups between receivers and TV's (17) for OTA, and I have an FM trap which is engaged and helps with the consistently high signal. I also pick up three markets where my house is built (Milwaukee, Madison and Rockford, Ill).

I wonder if anyone ever tried hooking up two AM21s to the HR34 to see if it could record 4 OTA stations at once? I'm guessing probably not since the firmware probably isn't set up to do so, but I wonder if it could be updated to allow it?

That said I doubt it ever would, just like I doubt they will ever come out with an AM31 with 5 ATSC tuners. There is probably not enough demand to justify either.

Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
-by Jack Handy

Coming from Dish, I had a dual-tuner module in my receiver(s). Now I have an HR34 w/ AM21. Stations that came in clear with Dish, are now pixelating (sp?) Therefore, I will conclude and concur that the AM21 doesn't have all that great of a tuner - for pulling in signals. With Dish, I picked up 41 OTA stations. With AM21, I'm getting 27, and they aren't as clear.

It is a dual tuning device. With Dish, it actually gave you two additional tuners, assuming that you have (had?) the OTA-module that goes in a 722K or a 922. The AM21 shares the internal tuners of your receiver.

Coming from Dish, I had a dual-tuner module in my receiver(s). Now I have an HR34 w/ AM21. Stations that came in clear with Dish, are now pixelating (sp?) Therefore, I will conclude and concur that the AM21 doesn't have all that great of a tuner - for pulling in signals. With Dish, I picked up 41 OTA stations. With AM21, I'm getting 27, and they aren't as clear.

Are you sure you aren't getting too strong of a signal and that is why they aren't coming in as well? Most people have been pretty impressed with the quality of the tuners in the AM21 from what I remember reading.

Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
-by Jack Handy

Are you sure you aren't getting too strong of a signal and that is why they aren't coming in as well? Most people have been pretty impressed with the quality of the tuners in the AM21 from what I remember reading.

Yes.

I still have my E* 922 receiver, with OTA-module. Still gets 41 OTA channels (it is disconnected from sat while I'm sending DVR programs to HD PVR.) Only 27 on the AM21.

My setup for antenna is fairly straight-forward:Powered antenna on one end of room. Another one 16 feet away at the other end of the room. Combined signal with a splitter. Other end of wire has a splitter that goes to the 922 and the AM21. All cables are RG-6 using compression connectors. I've even swapped cables between the AM21 and the 922, with no change in signal for the receivers.

Note that going straight to the AM21, and not splitting to the 922, makes little to no difference. Splitter is rated for 3db loss.

There are channels that I receive clear on the 922, that I don't even get on the AM21. Channels that pixelate on the AM21, are clear on the 922.

The AM21's have very sensitive tuners, they just arent great at dealing with multipath....and too many people live in areas where multipath is a problem. The average user just sees that the "AM21 doesnt get the stations as well as my tv", so they go right to "its a crappy tuner" logic. If you don't have multipath issues, the AM21 actually can pull in pretty weak signals well.

The AM21's have very sensitive tuners, they just arent great at dealing with multipath....and too many people live in areas where multipath is a problem. The average user just sees that the "AM21 doesnt get the stations as well as my tv", so they go right to "its a crappy tuner" logic. If you don't have multipath issues, the AM21 actually can pull in pretty weak signals well.

Yeah, mine is able to pull in a PBS station from 72 miles away off an indoor antenna. I had to try a few places for it because of stronger/closer stations that did have multipath issues.

I have an AM21 installed with my HR23. Can I record from the AM21 and also from the 2 tuners in the HR23 at the same time? Also if you have an HR34 with the capability of recording 5 programs at once does this mean you have to have 5 lines running from your dish?

I have an AM21 installed with my HR23. Can I record from the AM21 and also from the 2 tuners in the HR23 at the same time? Also if you have an HR34 with the capability of recording 5 programs at once does this mean you have to have 5 lines running from your dish?

No, the hardware in the DVR can only record 2 streams at once from any 2 tuners. Whether it is 2 OTA streams, 2 Sat streams, or one of each.

As far as the HR34 goes it can record 5 streams at once, whether it is 5 sat streams, 4 sat streams and 1 OTA, or 3 sat streams and 2 OTA. The HR34 requires a SWM install, which means that it only requires one coax wire connected to it.

Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
-by Jack Handy

No, the hardware in the DVR can only record 2 streams at once from any 2 tuners. Whether it is 2 OTA streams, 2 Sat streams, or one of each.

As far as the HR34 goes it can record 5 streams at once, whether it is 5 sat streams, 4 sat streams and 1 OTA, or 3 sat streams and 2 OTA. The HR34 requires a SWM install, which means that it only requires one coax wire connected to it.

So if I had the HR34 and the SWM would it cost me more for my monthly bill or would it be just the hardware cost?